Jake Ludington

CameraBright LED Lighting

Lighting is a crucial component of photography and video. With stills, too much light washes out the image, while too little results in wasted time in Photoshop attempting to salvage an otherwise great photo. With video, not enough light probably means you’ll be overwriting the footage because there’s nothing to see. Sometimes a flash will solve problems with still images. Nothing short of a lighting rig will fix the problems inherent in shooting video in low light. CameraBright takes an interesting stab at this problem, offering an LED-based solution for projecting more light on the photo subject. The lights definitely brighten up the image, but I’d be surprised if they don’t leave any persons in the path feeling like a deer in headlights. I’ve had the misfortune of looking into bright LED lights and the past, resulting in spots dancing in front of me for much longer than other light sources. Still, these are a far better solution than the typical on DV cam solutions and with 3,000 and 6,000 Kelvin lighting temperatures, the resulting photos should come out looking reasonably natural. Three styles, the X1-R 6000 Kelvin, 36 candela original model, the X1-ER with 72 candelas and the X1-W 3000 Kelvin, 25 candela units offer versatility across most on-the-go lighting scenarios. These might also make a neat alternative to low room light when using a Webcam. The best thing about LED is it won’t drain batteries with the vigor of some other lighting solutions. A mounting screw threads into the standard mount at the base of most camera units. Small enough to fit in your pocket, you get extra light without the inconvenience of a ton of extra weight.